The awakener (bxb)✔

TA 31

Chapter 22

Riley's POV

When I was a kid I'd always thought there was something special about me. I was the only kid and my mom adored me. I thought I was destined for greatness. That died down of course as I grew older. I realized I was just average. I wasn't that good in class and wasn't interested in sports. I wasn't nice either and rarely helped out people. I wasn't mother Theresa and I sure as hell wasn't Martin Luther King. I wasn't special. My own parents didn't want me. I was one of billions of people.

Not anymore.

Finding out I was an Awakener gave me a purpose in life. The whole Darkener race was dependant on me. Only I could give them their powers back. Regardless of what those powers were going to be used to do, I felt proud. I was special.

In a world of billions, I was the one. I was the key.

As I lay on my bed with rain coming down on the roof hard, I tried vehemently to convince myself of that.

Earlier I'd had a moment of weakness. When I went to Matt's place, I hadn't expected to find Casey there. I was hellbent on making Matt pay for one thing or another, but seeing Casey had crushed that idea.

Casey was like the light in the otherwise dim area that was my heart. It was like the moment I saw him, I found myself fighting with the darkness that possessed me. I already knew Casey had an effect on me. It was what drove me to get rid of him when Miguel was there. He may have downplayed it, but Miguel had made Casey a target.

I felt his energy when he stood in the room with us.

I shouldn't have gone to see Casey at his house after I'd revealed to him what I could do. My heart had overpowered my mind and I found myself in his room. I'd stayed in the darkness longer before he saw me, just watching him. While watching him I'd had thoughts about hurting him and thoughts about protecting him. It was a tug of war between the sides that governed my existence.

Psychologists agreed that all humans had a good side and bad side. It was up to individuals to decide which side they embraced. It was similar to my situation; only, the sides that governed my existence felt like they were physical beings hovering around me. One was winning.

I do not recall ever falling asleep, but I woke up to the sound of a knock on my bedroom door. The knock was so loud I felt my eardrums vibrating.

"Goddammit Miguel, no need to rupture my eardrums", I yelled and got out of bed. I knew the person on the other side of the door was Miguel. I had been expecting him, just not at that moment.

The door opened. "Excuse me my Lord, but you told me to knock," Miguel said as he walked in.

I noticed that he was wearing black from head to toe. His leather pants clung onto him and his knee-length jacket was buttoned from his waist to the top. He looked like something from The Matrix.

"I didn't mean you should knock the door down. What the hell are you wearing?" I said.

"...Our attire of course. You didn't think we wear white, did you? We are Darkeners, not Lighteners", he said.

"Do people like that exist? Lighteners", I asked.

He shook his head. "Come on, it's time to go".

My heartbeat quickened. This was really happening. Isadora had clearly said they would come to get me that day, but that hadn't truly registered with me.

"We are going to Lands of Azuria now?" I asked.

"Yes my Lord. You are going to meet your people", Miguel said.